Project Spira
by Special Agent Chibi
Summary: Macalania Wood's kept a secret from most of Spira. But, thanks to Tidus, that secret is getting revealed after he gets lost in the woods. Thank you, Karma. ALTERNATE UNIVERSE Capitailized because no one seems to get that concept... AuronRikku, TiYu, WaLu
1. Ch 1: Shocking Discoveries

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Project Spira

By Chibi-Sorrow

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Chapter 1: Shocking discoveries…

Macalania woods.

It was a deep chasm of crystals, their beauty reflecting off the eyes of anyone who came across them, Spirians and fiends alike. Though the crystals shown a reflective light throughout the forest, it still seemed darker than other places of Spira, a result from being connected to the Thunder Planes.

Fiends roamed this place with a vengeance, never stopping their tirade until they killed their target or were forced themselves into a drifting mass of Pyreflies that went towards its final destination of the Farplane. Pyreflies seemed attracted to this place as it was, drifting along the woods in small clusters. They ranged in colors, looking beautiful. Beautiful or not, though, they were still the spirits of the dead, roaming free until they found their way to their final resting.

The surroundings of this particular area were generally peaceful. Well, that is, except for today…

"Tidus, boy, where the hell are you!" came a male voice, disturbing the peaceful surroundings.

"Jecht, your son is a _never-ending _shoopuff of trouble!" growled out another male.

"And this is _my _fault!" questioned the one called Jecht as he stomped into view, looking quite pissed. He was a tall man, shoulder length, brown shaggy hair, and a red bandanna covering his forehead. He had a tanned complexion. He had a large tattoo on his chest, also adorning many scars upon there and the rest of his body. He wore a pair of long shorts that were almost to his knee's with a long yellow clothed tucked into his belt. His entire left arm was covered in metal armor and he had a leather strap connect from the armor to around his right shoulder.

"Yeah, actually, it is!" came the reply from the other male as he came striding next to Jecht. This man was definitely a contrast to Jecht. He was tall, though he stood a bit shorter then Jecht. His black hair was kept back neatly in a low ponytail, with a few strands hanging over his forehead, dangling in front of it. His complexion was paler than that of the other mans. He wore a pair of semi-baggy black pants that had two parallel stripes going down each side. His taut chest was covered in tight leather armor that shielded him from any fiends that dared to attack. Over his clothes he wore a large red coat that was snug and worn in. A quite large belt buckle was secured tightly around his waist, keeping the jacket closed around him. He also kept a glove covering his left hand while his other hand was free of glove and was just in the sleeve. On his left side, hanging from a color circle of beads, was a sake jug.

"Auron, it's not _my _fault he has no sense of direction!" barked the frustrated man as he turned to stare at the younger one behind him.

"But it is _your _fault that you never took the time to show him around this area in the first place!"

"He needs to learn how to take things how they come in life!"

"Or your definition of 'winging it'?" questioned Auron, raising an eyebrow and smirking at Jecht. Jecht looked absolutely flustered over that comment as he started grumbling under his breath as he marched farther away from Auron and deeper into the forest. Auron started laughing to himself before shaking his head and following him.

As they continued throughout the forest for about another hour or so, seeing or hearing nothing of the boy they had been searching for, the both started to get annoyed. The sounds around them were only that of the fiends that appeared every so often and that of natural sounds of nature. Auron was getting more and more bored and frustrated and Jecht as getting more pissed and ready to kill.

"Tidus, where the hell in these damned woods are you!" seethed Jecht as he punched his hands into one of the tree's close by, ignoring the pain that seemed to shoot up his arm.

"You're really worried about him, aren't you?" asked Auron as his brows furrowed together, tilting his head to the side.

"You know as well as I do that he can't stand up to some of these beasts that wonder around here, Auron. If he got in the path of a Chimera…" Jecht mumbled this quietly, not looking up and shaking his head.

Auron's face, once shown with confusion, was now full of concern. For Tidus or for Jecht, who knew? He walked over to his friend, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Tidus is strong, Jecht. I am sure his is just fine. He is very likely hiding out somewhere, keeping his distance from the fiends." Auron gripped his shoulder a bit tighter until the man finally straightened himself out, nodding his head.

"Yeah, you're right. He is _my _son, after all!"

"I'm not sure that's much to brag about on his part." started Auron, grinning as Jecht tried to deck him upside, the head, but he ducked before he could make contact. He laughed as he moved out of the way of Jecht, who proceeded to try and tackle him to the ground. He took off in a run, going through some brush in the forest. He let out another laugh as he heard Jecht yelling at him to 'get his rear back here', chasing right after him.

He had probably run for about five minutes before Jecht finally caught up with him, tackling him from behind and wrestling him around in the dirt. If there were any possibility of people being near and hearing this, it was almost certain their thoughts wouldn't be too pure. There were many calls of 'Get off me' coming from Auron and other strange remarks from Jecht.

This lasted for a few more seconds before Jecht rolled over a bit too much and made the both of them fall off of a small, one foot ledge that rose from the ground. Both of them separated, landing in different areas. Auron landed with an oomph and Jecht landed with curses, thought Auron started up not too long after him.

"Jecht, what the hell were you thinking you idiot!" yelled Auron as got up, rubbing his head as well as pulling twigs and other mismatches out from his hair. When he got no response, he raised an eyebrow and stalked to where he assumed Jecht initially landed.

"Jecht, what in Yevon could you be doing?" He questioned as he noticed Jecht just staring out in a certain area. He waved his hand in front of the older man's face, still getting no response. So, instead of trying other measures, he looked in the direction of which Jecht was staring. And to his own surprise, he couldn't stop staring either.

Hidden far beyond where anyone would normally travel in these woods… was what looked to be a building of some sorts. Jecht started moving forward, just staring and Auron soon followed.

"What is that…?" murmured Jecht as he got closer to the obstruction.

"I believe that would be a building, Jecht." Auron murmured sarcastically, still in awe at the fact there was a building in Macalania.

"Thank you, captain obvious." said Jecht as he rolled his eyes, going forward again.

"You're welcome, commander moron." Auron said back as Jecht bit back a laugh, watching as Auron skimmed his hands over the side of the building, his brows crossing in frustration again.

"Now, why would there be a building here of all places?" Auron questioned, crossing his arms.

"I don't know, but do you hear that?" asked Jecht as he looked around continually for the source of something.

"Hear what?" Auron blinked as he turned back to Jecht.

"Sounded like a pounding noise. And someone yelling!" came Jecht's reply.

"You sure you're not hearing things _again_?"

"No, I am no-" his voice was just off as they both heard a noise, just as he had just descried. "_See_!" They both listened again, hearing a voice coming from within the building.

"We should check it out." Auron started going around the building, looking for some sort of entrance to it. Jecht went around the other side, looking as well.

"Auron, you see anything?" yelled Jecht to Auron.

"Not yet. I can't seem to find a door or anythi- oomph!"

"Hey, you okay? What happened?"

"I found the entrance…" came out a mumbled growl that was no doubtingly Auron. Jecht ran around to where he heard Auron.

"Really? Where is-" was all he got out before he tripped over the fallen body of Auron, making a nice thud as he hit the ground.

"Owwww!"

"Yah think?" mumbled Auron as he stood up, brushing off his jacket and pulling things out of his hair for what seemed to be the fiftieth time that day. He held out his hand to help Jecht up, which he gladly accepted. They both looked toward a door in the wall that must've been locked until Auron bust through it. Jecht looked at him, raising his eyebrows suggestively as if to ask him how he got that door open and Auron just shrugged, nodding to him to go on in. Jecht entered the small building and Auron followed not long after.

To say it was dark in there was an understatement. It was pitch black, to the point where, if the door wasn't open, you wouldn't be able to see your hand in front of your own face, never mind the fact that it was hard even with the door ajar. The two looked to where they heard the source of the banging, though it was no clearer, seeing another door. The both looked to the other, nodding, before making their way to the door. Jecht turned the knob, opening it slowly. Auron went into what looked to be a small hallway first, his sword drawn, Jecht not far behind him.

They followed the noise for another ten minutes, going when seemed to be underground for a while, before finally getting to one last door, now hearing the yelling and banging ever clearer.

"Some one get me the hell out of here! Hello! Is there _anybody _out there!" The voice that was yelling before was clearly male, but more of a teenager than that of the other two.

"Wait a min- Tidus! Is that you?" Jecht yelled out to whom he thought was his son.

"_Dad_!" Yeah, it was most certainly Tidus.

"Tidus, what the hell are you doing in there, boy!" His father yelled as he banged on the door in front of him.

"That would be a good thing to know!" Auron piped in this time.

"_Auron_! You're here, too! How about we stop talking and get us out of here?"

" 'Us'? Tidus, who is '_us_'?" Auron asked, raising an eyebrow at Jecht who only shrugged.

"I'll _tell _you once you get me out of here!" Tidus said, starting to sound slightly pissed,

Auron tried the knob to the door, not getting it to even budge.

"It is locked…"

"No, ya think I haven't tried opening the door, yet? Of course it's locked!" Tidus yelled through the door again.

"Tidus, don't talk like that to the people who are getting you out of this place." Auron yelled over to Tidus, hiding, smirking.

"Fine, fine, just get it open, please."

Auron looked to Jecht, mumbling something about looking for a key before he went of in his search around that particular area. Looking through desks, stacks of papers, under things, _anywhere _for a key.

"Tidus, I am not finding a key."

"Yeah, me neither." Jecht muttered as he hit the door with the side of his fist lightly.

"Well, then can you just break it down or something?" Tidus asked.

Auron and Jecht looked at each other again.

"Well, it is plausible. Might as well give it a shot. Tidus, you and… well, your little friend if they are anywhere near, better stand back." Auron yelled to Tidus. Tidus yelled back about a second later that he was far enough away, before both the older men nodded to each other and proceeded to bang their shoulders directly into it. The door gave a shudder, but still didn't open.

"Again, in three, two…" Auron mumbled as him and Jecht attempted to knock down the door. It gave another shudder, moving more this time then the alst.

"Once more…" said Jecht as he and Auron finally charged at the door, Auron also bringing out his huge katana at the last second, swimping at the door in the process.

The door gave a loud lurch as it split in half, falling onto the ground. Dust flew around as Jecht wasted no time and ran into the room.

"Tidus, boy, now where are you?" He growled out, looking for signs of his son.

"Right here, pops." Tidus said as he came out from a hidden area behind a wall. The boy was covered in dirt and grime from head to toe, but looked relatively fine. He shook his head, getting the dirt out of his blonde hair. His blitzball outfit consisted of a bright, yellow shirt that was open, showing his well-toned chest, a hood attaching to the shirt, and a pair of dark blue suspenders, one leg of the shorts going past his knee, the other just above it. It also had a belt around the waist attached to it and a few metal things, like chains, hanging here and their. Around his neck he wore a silver necklace, the large pendant the same shape as Jecht's tattoo.

Jecht marched over to his son, looking straight down at him in the eyes. Their staring contest lasted for about a minute before Jecht smacked his son upside the head. Tidus let out a yelp as he held the back of his head.

"What the hell was that f-" Tidus managed to get out most of his sentence before his father pulled him into a bear hug, gripping him tightly.

"God, kid, I thought you had gotten eaten by a Chimera or something! Don't do that again! Not only will I kill you, but your mother will kill me!" said Jecht, his reply muffled by his son's hair. Tidus blinked in surprise before wrapping his own arms around his father in a quick hug, letting out a chuckle.

"Sorry, Dad."

"Tidus, didn't you have someone else here?" Auron said to Tidus as he came into the room. Jecht broke away from Tidus as he finally realized what he was doing. Tidus's eyes lit up in remembrance.

"Oh yeah, I have someone I want you two to meet! Well, actually, you have already me-"

"Tidus, who the hell could you possibly meet in a freaking weird place like this!" yelled out his father in exasperation as he threw his hands into the air, interrupting his son.

"Old man, you wouldn't believe it-"

"Tidus, just tell us who it is so we can get out of here. _Please_?" Auron growled out in frustration as he glared at Tidus.

"Okay, okay! Chill." mumbled Tidus as he went over to a darker corner of the room, though it was dark enough as it was.

"Tidus, is it safe to come out…?" murmured a hi-pitch voice, sounding as frightened as a kitten that came from that general area.

"Yeah, don't worry! Those scientist guys aren't here anymore! They left a little while ago!" The two older men heard Tidus respond to what sounded like a female voice.

"Are you sure…?" There came to voice again, sounding less anxious.

"Yeah, come on! It's just my Dad and Auron out there!" They heard some shuffling around as Tidus reappeared, his hand grasping someone else's as he came out.

"Guys… I'd like for guys to be reintroduced to…" he trailed off, looking behind him as he pulled the girl out of the darkness. Auron and Jecht's eyes widened and jaws dropped at the sight that stood before them. "Rikku!"

"Hi guys! It's been a while!"

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Well, that's the end of chapter one for my new story. Whee. I'm sick right now. I have a huge headache, stomach ache, I'm achy in general and tired from lack of sleep from the past couple days. Oh well, sucks to be me. But anyways, I decided to finish this chapter so I could start with the rest of this story that I've been dying to write. I've got part of two done. So I should have that out soon. Well, I'm going to attempt to go to sleep now. Hope you all enjoy this!

Chibi-Sorrow


	2. Ch 2: We learn new and interesting thing

Okay, I normally don't put Author notes at the beginning of the story, but I am about to explode. This is an AU, people! It said right in the summary it is! My GOD! I get three reviews asking me it and it made me change part of the summary because I got so pissy! ANYWAYS, here are the review responses and I apologies for the outburst.

Gining: My first reviewer, of course! I 3 you! The only one who knew it was an AU. Yesh, I have the chapter one up, this is the other now. Now, UPDATE YOUR STORY! Or Ride ze shoopuf?

Luv2Game: I already explained to you about the AU thing… And, here is the next chapter.

Nobody: Heres the next chapter!

Killing Aurora/thesquiffiest: Glad you thought it was really good!

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_**Project Spira**_

_By Chibi-Sorrow_

**Chapter two: We learn new and interesting things every day.**

Auron and Jecht just stared…

And stared…

And stared some more.

Rikku let out a nervous giggle while Tidus just grinned like the idiot he was.

"No way…That couldn't be-" Auron final drew out before briefly being interrupted by Jecht.

"But it is!" Jecht let that out in a gasp, just blinking as the girl stood behind Tidus, clinging to the back of his shirt. She grinned at the two of them a bit, her smile wavering a bit in fear. It seemed Jecht had nothing else to say because he just continued staring at Rikku, shock, surprise and some many other emotions swirling in his deep brown eyes. It was obvious he had known her quite well before. His mind drifted off as he thought of the last time he has seen her…

_**Five years earlier…**_

_It was a peaceful day in Besaid, the water lapping at the shore, the sun lying over the land, warming anyone within the light. There was no exception, even for Jecht, as he stood, mid-chest high, in the deep waters of the blue ocean that surrounded the relatively small island. His thoughts were peaceful today as he reminisced on his life, his family and how he got to such a peaceful state._

_His mind also wandered to the thoughts of a young girl who was in his life. 'His little Rikku', as he liked to call her, was a cute girl, the tender age of twelve. She liked to call him 'Uncle Jecht' and he always thought of her as a niece or even a daughter. She was just so darn cute!_

_He wasn't actually her uncle, but she had been practically raised by him, his wife and her real uncle. Her real father didn't seem to care much for her. Ever since her mother died when she was six, her brother had tried to raise her. Then, one day, around the time she was seven and a half, she snuck on one of the boats leaving for Luca. And then from there on, she snuck on a boat going to Kilika Port, than another going to Besaid. To say that it was a shock when she suddenly showed up one day in front of Braska's place on the outskirts of the village was an understatement if anything. Her cousin was thrilled, as was Tidus. But, of course, Braska, being the one who didn't want to cause any disturbance in his family, sent her back to Bikanel with an escort. A boy, named Auron, to be more precise. _

_He was at the age of fifteen, going onto sixteen and already more mature then his age. Auron's parents were killed years ago, how though, was unknown since the boy never spoke of it. She clung to him like nothing else, if for that reason and nothing else. Whenever she snuck to Besaid, she would always visit Auron first. And on most occasions, she was sent back to Bikanel with him as her escort. This continued for about a year or so until both parties got tired of it and just let her stay and leave as she wished. Though, even afterwards, she still was with Auron more the ever. And he didn't seem to mind._

_Even after all those years had gone by and after he left around the time he turned eighteen, she would greet him ever cheerful and he always had that smile for her.  
_

"_Uncle Jecht! Uncle Jecht!" A hi-pitched child's voice rang in the air as a young girl of his thoughts ran onto the beach surrounding Besaid. She was a small girl, as already stated, short blond hair to her shoulders kept loose, emerald swirling eyes large and innocent. She wore a white tank top with thin straps, a long deep pink skirt that went to her ankles and a pair of black sandals. She carried a sand colored satchel, filled with only Yevon knows what, by her side. As she came into view, he noticed that she was alone, which he didn't consider a good thing since fiends lurked around everywhere._

"_Rikku, what do you **think **you are doing?" He yelled to her as he stomped out of the water and onto the beach. He told her over and over again not to come to the beach without someone to take care of fiends. She stopped her running and looked up to him, eyes wide in confusion as he yelled. She never liked yelling._

"_What do you mean, Uncle Jecht? I'm just coming to get you for lunch since Auntie Celeste asked me to. Tidus told me you were here…" She trailed off a bit, digging her foot into the sand a bit as she gently scratched the side of her cheek with her index finger, a habit she often did when confused or upset, as she looked to the ground._

"_How many times have I told you **not **to come to the beach without someone with you! You're too young and not strong enough to protect yourself from them! What would have happen if you had gotten attacked!" He growled at as he looked to her. He knew she hated it when he was mad, but he was concerned for her safety._

"_Uncle Jecht, I-"_

"_I was accompanying her the entire way, Jecht. You just didn't give her a chance to tell you." _

_Jecht blinked in surprise as Auron now strutted down the path, missing his large red coat that he had worn since he was eighteen, now being twenty. Rikku's eyes lit up as she ran back over to Auron, automatically clinging to his arm._

"_See, uncle? Auron was with me the entire time!" she said as she beamed at him before turning her gaze to Auron. Auron gave her a small smile, nodding his head._

_Jecht let out a sigh, throwing his hands in the air. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry I yelled at ya' Rikku. I just worried about you, ya know."_

"_It's okay, Uncle Jecht! I know how much you love me!" she said as she giggled. He grinned at her, ruffling her hair a bit._

"_Yeah, I do." He said as he started heading back to his house. "Are you two coming?" Auron nodded his head as Rikku shook hers._

"_No, I think I'll stay here and watch the ocean for a bit. I already ate. Do you think that maybe someone can come here in an hour or so to get me…? I promise I won't leave the beach!" she said as she grinned to the two of them, giving them her best puppy face. The two men looked at each before Auron nodded at Jecht, turning back to Rikku._

"_I'll come back in **exactly **one hour, Rikku. You leave this beach and I'll personally take you to Macalania and feed you to a Chimera, got that?" Auron joked as Rikku giggled, hugging his arm again._

"_I know, I know." She blinked, and then gave a look to Jecht before pulling Auron down and whispering something in his ear that she thought Jecht couldn't hear. "Thanks for covering for me, Auron, you're a life saver. Perfect timing." She whispered to him, giggling slightly as Auron rolled his eyes, nodding, and then going off towards the direction of the village. _

_Jecht rolled his own eyes, ruffling her hair once more before going off after Auron. The last thing he saw was her waving her hands in the air at them from a distance as she stood on the beach._

_**Present time…**_

And that was the last time he had seen her. He still remembered that for so many weeks, Braska, Auron, and himself searched all over for her, yet found no trace of her left except for her precious bag that she always carried with her, torn and strewn all over the place in the woods surrounding the beach. Jecht couldn't remember a time he cried in his life, well, after he was a child that is. But when Braska came back that one night, a week after she had gone missing, Yuna at his side and both of them in tears with the bag in her clutches, they both knew that his little Rikku was gone…

Jecht had no clue how long he was in a daze for. It must have been for at least a few minutes because when he finally came back, the first thing he saw was a hand waving in his face, courtesy of Tidus, and Auron making a comment.

"There's always something wrong when Jecht doesn't talk for a period of five minutes…" He mumbled as he watched Jecht slap Tidus upside the head, Tidus whining about it, of course. He heard a small giggling coming from the darker side of the room, and looked over, seeing Rikku there, covering her mouth with her hand to muffle her laughter. She really had grown. She went from being the once scrawny little twelve-year-old, to the beautiful woman that stood before him. Her blonde hair that had once been only to her shoulders was now down to her knee's, kept down. She was wearing clothing that you normally wouldn't see. It was skin tight body suit, grayish in color with splashes of blue and pink here and there. It was definitely something that was not expected to be seen on the young girl.

He didn't know how, but it was as if she somehow sensed someone watching her. She turned to him, noticing his gaze and visibly stiffened in fear. She seemed to back away back in the shadows, as if trying to hide herself from the world.

Tidus noticed the silence behind him and saw the exchange between the two. His brows furrowed together as he walked over to where Rikku was hiding, talking to her quietly.

"Rikku, what is it?" He asked in concern as he laid a hand on her shoulder. She flinched at that, but allowed him to keep his hand there. She was obviously scared as hell.

"I'm afraid…" she muttered lightly, looking to the ground in fear.

"Why are you, Rikku? I don't get it. You know both of them. Hell, we are practically related, Rikku." he said to her gently as she looked up to him.

"'Were', Tidus… I don't know any of you anymore…" She said as she broke away from his contact and turned towards the wall, looking at the nothing particular.

"Rikku…" He murmured, coming behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and laying his head on her shoulder. She tensed nervously at this, but after a minute or so, relaxed a bit. "Rikku, you were, no, you _are _my best friend and always have been. You were like the sister I never had when we were growing up. Can you really say you want to forget all that…? Forget how close we were? I haven't changed much, Rikku. I know it's been awhile and I know that you're scared. But I, and everyone else, I'm sure, will help you, okay?"

Rikku heard the sincerity in his voice and knew he was talking the truth. This was Tidus, after all. He may be an idiot, but he couldn't tell a lie. She slowly turned around in the circle of his arms and gently, yet cautiously, wrapped her arms around his waist. "You're right, Tidus… You haven't changed… I'm glad."

He pulled away from her, giving her a grin. "So, you ready to get out of here?"

"Most definitely…" she whispered as Tidus grabbed her hands and pulled her out of the darkness again. The two older men watched the scene in silence. It was quiet obvious that the girl had changed. The once outgoing as all hell, hyper child was now a frightened quiet girl…

'_I'm going to change that, that's for sure._' Jecht thought as he looked at Rikku, who was now hiding behind Tidus again. "Hey Rikku!"

She blinked, looking from behind Tidus over to him. "Hi…"

He gave her his normal grin as she blinked, jus looking at him. "You do remember who I am, right? Come on! Don't tell me you forgot your Uncle Jecht!"

She giggled a bit at that, shaking her head furiously as she still stood behind Tidus. She was a bit hesitant as it was, but she seemed to accept him and opened up a bit more. "Of course not, uncle…"

He smiled this time, a real smile, not a grin or a smirk, as he moved to the young girl behind Tidus. She seemed to back away a bit, before standing her ground, allowing him to wrap his arms around her. She tensed in reaction as his arms held her close to his chest, hearing his heart beat beneath the skin and muscles. She hesitantly wrapped her arms around his neck, relaxing slightly in his embrace.

"Oh, my little Rikku… You have no idea how much I have missed you. I thought you were gone forever…I thought we'd never see you again…Where have you been all these years…?" he whispered in her ear, his voice clogged with emotion. He couldn't help it.

"I…" She felt her eyes fill up with tears, both at the pain she had caused him and the memory of the day she was taken…

_**Five years ago…**_

_Rikku panted in exertion, running through the woods surrounding the Besaid. _

_She was being followed by some strange… things. They were wearing dark hoods covering themselves so she couldn't' see their faces, but she could very clearly see long claws on a few of them. They asked her to come with them, saying they had things they wanted to show her. She, of course, refused, knowing well enough not to go with strangers. They clearly insisted and when she refused again, tried to grab her. She rolled out of the way, grabbing her bag and running for the village through the thick woods. She had no clue if those things could swim and wasn't about to find out personally. Sure, she was a good swimmer, but she was an even better runner. So, instead of taking her chances with swimming and finding out they were better at it, she hightailed it to the village, or at least to one of her uncle's houses. She wasn't sure how long it had been since her uncle and Auron had left, but she hoped it had been long enough that they were on their way to get her. _

_She was gasping with breath as she looked behind her, not seeing them there. She didn't want to take her chances as she started crossing the bridges that led to the woods. She knew that going in there would be suicide and that it was even dangerous around this area as well. So she did the only thing she could think of._

_She ran to the beginning of the bridge, going to the pole in the dirt closest to the rocks and jumped down. She landed on a large rock down below, getting splashed by the cold water from the falls, slipping a bit, but catching herself. She made her way over the very edge of the water fall, hiding in the shadows and looking up as dark forms made their way across the bridge. She let out a small sigh of relief. She looked around; glad she landed on the right side and went under the waterfall. Hidden underneath was a hole just large enough for a small girl like her to fit in. She climbed through it slowly, being careful not to scrape up her knees and her hands. She was pretty confident now that they couldn't find her._

_After what seemed like hours, Rikku finally saw the light to the end of the tunnel, climbing out. She looked around, remembering that she was now in a safer part of the woods, hidden by trees, large pieces of old machina, and of course, fiends. The only other way someone would be able to possible get there were if they could climb up the machina or if they could possibly fly. Of course, the last wasn't even an option. Or so Rikku had thought at the time._

_Not even two minutes after getting in there did Rikku see three large shadows overhead, zooming down from above her. They had wings… And they were coming down fast and furious. She let out a scream as one got behind her, grabbing onto her arms._

"_Let me go, oui yccruma! Vilg** uvv**!" she growled, switching to her native language as she back kicked the stranger in where she assumed it hurt. He gasped and let go off her and she scrambled away from him and the other two who tried to grab her. She started digging in her bag as she avoided them; searching for the grenades she kept hidden in there. But it didn't seem she was quick enough as one of the hooded figures finally caught onto her, grabbing her arms and trying to pull her bag away from her. She let out another growl as she tried to pull her bag back. The thing, whatever it was, tore the bag from her grasp, ripping part of it in the process. She let out a scream as the thing started to soar into the air, the other two following it. _

"_Help! Somebody! Anybody! Uncle Jecht! Uncle Braska! Wakka, Lulu, Yuna! Tidus! **Auron**! Please, somebody-" but she was cut off as the creature gave a swift knock to the side of her head. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the island getting farther away from her._

_**Present time…**_

"Uhm, yeah, sorry to interrupt this moment, but we have a problem here!" Rikku blinked her eyes open as she looked over to Auron, noticing him looking around frantically. It was strange, but she didn't seem to get a good look at him until now. He was still as young and as handsome as when she last saw him. She had to admit, she had such an infatuation for him when she was younger.

"Auron…" she mumbled quietly, and then turned to hear loud sirens going off. "Oh, no! The alarms! You guys have to get out of here! If you are caught, they'll never let you go! You might have to fight some guards getting out, but I'm sure you can handle it!" she yelled to them, scrambling out of Jecht's warm embrace and pushing him and Tidus towards the door at the same time.

"Whoa, hold on there, Rikku! You're coming with us! We ain't leaving you here!" Jecht yelled over the sound of the alarms.

"Yeah! We finally found you! We can't let you go again!" Tidus piped in this time, looking Rikku in the eyes with concern etched in his face. She shook her head, pushing them to the door and backing way, back into the shadows of her 'room' that she previously kept herself in.

"I can't go with you... they'll hunt me down… They'll kill you all to get to me and I won't allow it! I'm not going to cause anymore death! Just -just get out of here!" she said as she was about to turn and run into darkness when a hand grabbed her wrist. She looked up in shock to see Auron's own deep brown eyes staring back at her. She blinked her emerald swirling eyes at him, looking at him in confusion as he started dragging her off, past Jecht and Tidus who just stared with their mouth's gaping open. "Aur-Auron! What are you doing!"

"I am taking you out of here whether you like it or not." Short, simple, and to the point, just like Auron to always be.

"But-"

"No buts, missy, just shudd-up and keep going!" came Jecht's reply as he started pushing Rikku from behind, making her go faster. She eventually complied, running with them as them as they shot past many guards, Auron still gripping her wrist.

They continued to run in haste, Rikku yelling out to watch out or something like that occasionally as many guards and other things of strange nature came hurtling towards them as they made a beeline to escape. From Rikku's constant whimpers as she looked side to side, they could tell that getting caught by these people would not be a great thing.

"The exit!" Tidus shouted as he ran in front of Auron and Rikku, going through the light that led outside.

"Tidus, you idiot, wait for us!" Jecht yelled back at him as he then did the same as his son, moving in front of the other two. Auron just shook his head while Rikku giggled slightly.

"They are both idiots…" Auron mumbled, dragging her along still as she giggled slightly again.

"Noted, Auron." she said as they finally came to the exit. They entered the forest, Rikku shielding her eyes as she looked around. It was bright. Well, bright compared to what she normally was used to.

"GUYS! We could use some help, like, now!" came Tidus's voice, probably five octaves higher than it normally was. Auron let go of Rikku's wrist and running off towards Tidus's voice, taking his sword out of its sheath. Rikku let out a small gasp as she ran after him, taking a quick look behind her in hesitation. She could hear yelling. Well, a lot of yelling, actually. And what sounded to be growls. Oh no, that means they have sent out the fiends.

She quickly ran into a clearing, seeing Auron, Tidus and Jecht all aligned and in battle stance. Tidus must have found his sword for he acquired Brotherhood in his hands. Jecht had his large, black and orange sword in hand, where he pulled that out of, she wasn't sure. Must've had a sheath somewhere… And she had seen Auron pull his out beforehand. She quickly ran over there, hoping to help somehow. They still didn't know her secret and she was kind of hoping they wouldn't find out.

Tidus looked over to Rikku, grinning and waving at her in the middle of battle. He then heard a shout to him to get out of the way, which he quickly did, jutting to his right. He looked to see that one of the Flan's had shot a Blizzard at him.

"Tidus, how many times have I _told _you not to get distracted by girls when fighting, you idiot!" yelled out Auron as he glared at the younger man in the middle of the battle. He could get so distracted at times…

"_Me_! What about -Whoa, watch out!" Tidus cut himself off as he noticed a fiend coming straight for the caught-off-guard Auron. He wasn't close enough to get the fiend himself and he was dealing with the damn flan.

Auron turned to see the fiend less then two feet away from him. He wasn't prepared for this. He was about to attempt to hit the fiend, preparing for a heavy blow from the fiend as well, knowing it would come whether he hit the thing or not since he himself had gotten distracted.

But it never came.

Instead, Auron felt his feet off the ground and air beating past him. He was airborne…

"Holy Chocobo! Auron!" Auron heard Tidus scream, shock ridden in his voice.

"What the…" He muttered to himself until he heard the flapping of wings and realized that someone was grasping onto him tightly. He looked up, and for the second time that day, stared in shock at what was before him.

"Auron, you okay? That was close!" asked Rikku as she looked at him in concern, her eyes full of worry as she gave him a small smile.

"R-Rikku…" He stuttered out, staring at her.

_She had **wings**…_

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And, there we go. Chapter two and it's over 4000 words. A little less the 4000 without the authors note. Anyways, sorry about the earlier outburst. It's just that it originally only said AU but after getting three different reviews asking if it were, I kind of got pissed. Makes me and Gining wonder if people can or cannot read. Anyways, hope you liked this chapter. I hope for more reviews, but if I get none, oh well. I liked writing. I hope this is okay because the format kept screwing up because of the damn edit/preview thing. 

_Chibi_


	3. Ch 3: What are those!

_**Project Spira**_

_By Chibi-Sorrow_

**Chapter three: What are those!**

Rikku gave Auron a small smile as she looked at his shocked face. He stuttered in astonishment as she gently started sinking, landing them both smoothly on the ground. If she wasn't holding onto his arm, he probably would have fallen over, still staring at her wings.

They were very beautiful. Each wing had a span of what was guessed to be roughly around six, maybe seven feet. Her wings made her seem like an angel, gorgeous tan, white tipped feathers shinning in the little light that was in Macalania, making her glow with such beauty.

Rikku turned to see Jecht finish off the fiend that had gone after Auron, as well as Tidus quickly dismissing the Ice Flan with a quick Fira. Jecht let out a whoop of excitement after beating the fiend and Tidus just grinned before he started off towards Rikku.

"Rikku… How the-"Auron started off before being cut off by Jecht.

"Rikku, holy…! How in the hell…? What _are _those!" Jecht asked as he stared in astonishment at her large wings, blinking repeatedly and rubbing his eyes.

"They're called wings, Pops." Tidus muttered as he blinked as well, getting a swift smack to the back of his head from Jecht. Tidus let out a yell, growling at his dad. Auron rolled his eyes before turning back to Rikku.

"Rikku, how have you acquired those strange appendages? I was not expecting you to suddenly sprout wings." Auron questioned, raising an eyebrow as Rikku gave him a light smile, shaking her head.

"It's a long story, Auron… Maybe I'll tell you some other time." She said as Tidus came over, grinning as normal, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and dragging her off in another direction. She stiffened a bit at the contact, but relaxed soon after. She gave him a small smile as he started jabbering on about things, going off in what he thought was the correct direction to exit this place, but was actually the wrong way, proven after Jecht smacked him upside the head again and dragged him the opposite way.

She stifled a giggle as she shook her head, following behind the two of them silently, Auron behind the group. Silence surrounded the rear part of the chain of four, Jecht and Tidus arguing and laughing their heads off over one thing or another in the front. Rikku kept her head down, her hands connected behind her back as she walked slowly behind them. She could feel Auron staring holes into the back of her head, but she decided against speaking with him. It would just bring up unwanted questions she wasn't ready to answer. So she just continued forward, him trailing along behind her.

So lost in thought, Rikku didn't even look to where she was going, crashing face first into a rock hard wall. Well, it wasn't actually a wall. And it was furrier if anything.

'Furry…?' questioned Rikku as she looked up, her large emerald eyes blinking in curiosity and surprise. They then widened to the size of dinner plates as she noticed that the 'furry wall' was in all actuality a large, feline like animal, staring back at her with catlike yellow eyes. Dark blue fur covered its entire body with a white mane covering the back of its head, some coming out towards the front, being wrapped together in braids. Two large silver rings rested on his shoulders, belts holding them in place, along with others there just for show. Large, strange feathers sprouted from his shoulders, looking as if they were wings, though they were not. A strange sort of pendant adorned his chest, silver in color, four different belts coming from it. At his waist there was a strange dark brown cloth, seamed in gold and being held around his waist by a red rope tied in a bow. Green fabric hung loosely in front of his waist decorated with yellow, green, black, and brown shapes. On his forehead there was a broken horn.

Rikku blinked repeatedly again in shock before letting out a scream, falling over onto the ground and crawling backwards in fear. She eventually came crashing into the front of Auron's legs. He was about to question her on her strange behavior when she suddenly jumped up, going behind his back and clinging to his jacket, hiding her face in the soft, crimson material. He could feel her shuddering slightly as he looked to his front, expecting to see a fiend, but instead seeing a Ronso. A very familiar Ronso at that.

"Rikku! Rikku, what happened!" Tidus came bolting into the area, Jecht right behind him. Tidus suddenly stopped short, crashing into the back of the large cat that had Rikku cowering behind Auron. Tidus would have fallen over had the Ronso in question not grabbed onto his collar, lifting him up into the air in front of him. Tidus blinking, before giving the overgrown feline a grin.

"Hey there, Kimahri!" Tidus grinned at the large, or in all actuality, small Ronso. Kimahri nodded at Tidus before setting him down on the ground gently.

"Tidus need to watch where going. Could have gotten harmed." Kimahri grumbled, glancing towards Auron, making no comment about the little bundle of blonde hair currently residing behind him.

"Kimahri? What are you doing in Macalania? Aren't you supposed to be on Gagazet?" Auron questioned, feeling the young Al-Bhed behind him let out weird noise, before peaking out from behind his back. He looked towards her, seeing her questioning look towards Kimahri.

"Rikku, it is alright. This is Kimahri. He is a friend. He has been watching over Yuna for quite a while. Do you remember him?" Auron murmured to her, gently prying her hands from his jacket and holding onto them gently. Rikku gulped slightly, before nodding once.

"Vaguely…" she said quietly. She felt a presence come closer to her and Auron, looking up to see the Ronso step towards her. She would have run off had Auron not been holding onto her hands. Kimahri looked down at her and, unexpectedly, gave her a strange, sort of grin.

"Kimahri is glad Rikku still on Spira. Thought Rikku had gone to Farplane." The words that rumbled from his chest were quiet and gentle. He then lay on of his massive paws on top of her head. She winced a bit, but then relaxed as the gentle weight comforted her a bit. She game him a small, shy smile as he drew his hand back.

"Yo, Kimahri. What's up? Why are you here in Macalania? 'Thought for sure you'd be up on Mt. Gagazet! Though I'm not sure how you can handle the freezing cold damn weather…" Jecht stated, trailing off towards the end. Kimahri grunted a bit, shaking his head.

"Kimahri was on Gagazet, but was contacted by Yuna. Wanted help finding Tidus, but Tidus found. Rikku found as well. Yuna be happy." Kimahri growled out softly, before turning and heading towards what was only to be assumed to be the exit of Macalania. Tidus than ran after Kimahri, babbling more nonsense as normal, Yuna being mentioned quite a bit. Jecht shook his head before following after his son, surprisingly quiet for once. Auron shook his head as well, before looking over to the distracted Rikku.

"Yuna… My cousin…" She mumbled, looking towards the ground. She felt eyes on her and looked up, seeing Auron staring at her blankly. She flinched a bit when she felt him gently grab onto her hand, taking her along with him. She blinked in surprise, looking down to the gloved hand that gently grasped her hand and back up to the man who owned it. She felt a light blush graze her cheeks as she tightened her grasp on his hand and followed silently behind him.

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Yeah, I know it is short, but hey, it's better than nothing! I'm hope everyone liked it! Here are review responses!

Neko-Yuff16: I'm glad this helps a bit! Also glad that I'm not doubted! -Grins- Next chapter should help a lot more! I thought I did decent on the flashbacks! So glad someone liked them! As for Auron's age, he is 25.

Gining: You are insane… You know this, right? Just wait till I come up… We are screwed aren't we? Tee hee.

Killing Aurora: Did they sound in character to you? I do hope so! And yes, wings!

Farther: Isn't the back story cute? I do hope you will stick with my story! It will most likely be explained either the next chapter or so why she has wings.

Evil Neko: Ahh, the dreaded typos! If you see any thing chapter if you are still reading, mind pointing them out totally? Much thanks! I'm glad you like this story, too!

Army Babe: Yes, the Auron/Rikku romance! Always best, huh? Well, yes, I thought my story was quite original! And the wings. I thought the description I put of them made them sound pretty.

IluvLukeDuke: I liked your story, though lately I haven't really looked at anyone's. I'm very glad you liked mine!

Luv2Game: Don't worry, kiddo, things will be explained eventually, just stick with me, please! Yes, I thought it left people wanting more! I can't wait to read more of Wedding Time as well!

Chaotic Pink Chocobo: I will keep writing! Don't worry, slowly and surely I will keep this up! Though after I get all the characters introduced, I should be just fine!

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Well, that's all! Hopefully I'll update chapter four quicker and it WILL be longer! Bye lovies!

Chibi


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